Tír Na HiFi

I've been listening to a lot of Judee Sill's work recently. Sad to say, only two albums surfaced during her tragically short life, but what albums they are.

The last song on her final album, The Donor, is one of those great songs, that, once heard, is impossible to dislodge from your mind and successive listenings re-affirm its classic status. Written in a depressed frame of mind, she wanted to write a song that would, in some way, "induce God to give us all a break", but decided that, on reflection, she "shouldn't get any more breaks because [she] already squandered them in weird places". This turned out to be sadly prescient for the rest of her life. The following year saw her her third album shelved by her record company (it remained unreleased until 2005), and then she was involved in a car accident which left her with daily excruciating back pain for the rest of her life. She became addicted to the painkillers that helped her deal with this pain and then returned to heroin (to which she had been addicted in the late Sixties), leaving the musical world far behind, before finally dying of an overdose in 1979. It's a heartbreaking story, especially when you consider the astonishing quality of the two albums she left us with - perfectly formed songs, full of achingly personal sincerity and beautifully sung from the heart. If you haven't yet made their acquaintance, I strongly suggest you do so.

As good as the studio version of The Donor is, there is a live version available that is, in my opinion, even more heartbreakingly powerful.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BE4c3ZlCWmQ

Now songs from so deep/While I'm sleeping/Seep in/Sweeping over me
Still the echo's aching
"Leave us not forsaken"
Kyrie eleison

So sad and so true/That even shadows come/And hum the requiem
Kyrie eleison

cybot wrote:New Mazzy Star 7" First new material in 15 years. Dig Dave's slide....

http://soundcloud.com/weallwantsome1/ma ... ommon-burn - Mazzy Star



Apologies for the silence as I ended up in hospital! Missed my footing out side St. Patrick's church Dundalk after mass on Sun. week last as I skipped down the 25 granite steps. I was too busy checking my change for yet another collection! Hurled into space, landed on my right leg and managed to completely rupture my quadricep just above the knee! Crunch :( Had the op. in the Lourdes Drogheda on Wed. last and arrived home on Sun. to find my beloved hi-fi room turned into a temporary bedroom. Eek! I've come on in leaps and bounds (pun intended!) since and I can't wait to eventually start spinning those precious black discs :) However, I'm in for long, long recovery period and lots and lots of physio. Some say 8 weeks, others say 6/9 months before I'm back fully functioning again....Say A Little Prayer :)

I'm so very sorry so hear about that, Dermot. I hope you get well soon. I know those steps outside St. Patrick's very well and they are easy to misjudge. It sounds to me like astonishingly bad luck to injure yourself that seriously. I do hope you won't be without your precious music for long. Take care and God speed the recovery.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tMM3rvWk2hY
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QmdCtFA1ijo

mcq wrote:

cybot wrote:New Mazzy Star 7" First new material in 15 years. Dig Dave's slide....

http://soundcloud.com/weallwantsome1/ma ... ommon-burn - Mazzy Star



Apologies for the silence as I ended up in hospital! Missed my footing out side St. Patrick's church Dundalk after mass on Sun. week last as I skipped down the 25 granite steps. I was too busy checking my change for yet another collection! Hurled into space, landed on my right leg and managed to completely rupture my quadricep just above the knee! Crunch :( Had the op. in the Lourdes Drogheda on Wed. last and arrived home on Sun. to find my beloved hi-fi room turned into a temporary bedroom. Eek! I've come on in leaps and bounds (pun intended!) since and I can't wait to eventually start spinning those precious black discs :) However, I'm in for long, long recovery period and lots and lots of physio. Some say 8 weeks, others say 6/9 months before I'm back fully functioning again....Say A Little Prayer :)

I'm so very sorry so hear about that, Dermot. I hope you get well soon. I know those steps outside St. Patrick's very well and they are easy to misjudge. It sounds to me like astonishingly bad luck to injure yourself that seriously. I do hope you won't be without your precious music for long. Take care and God speed the recovery.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tMM3rvWk2hY
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QmdCtFA1ijo

Thank you so much Paul. It's nice to have you back too :)BTW the youtube links above won't load for some reason....What are they? Oh, the first one's just after loading. Very nice indeed and so appropriate too. Thanks a million!

Two takes on I Say A Little Prayer for you, the first by Wes Montgomery and the second by Wynton Kelly. It's such a great pop song and the versions by Aretha and Dionne are iconic but a bit obvious, so I wanted something a little out of the way. Neither man's best work, but enjoyable all the same.

mcq wrote:Two takes on I Say A Little Prayer for you, the first by Wes Montgomery and the second by Wynton Kelly. It's such a great pop song and the versions by Aretha and Dionne are iconic but a bit obvious, so I wanted something a little out of the way. Neither man's best work, but enjoyable all the same.

Thanks again...

mcq wrote:I've been listening to a lot of Judee Sills' work recently. Sad to say, only two albums surfaced during her tragically short life, but what albums they are.

The last song on her final album, The Donor, is one of those great songs, that, once heard, is impossible to dislodge from your mind and successive listenings re-affirm its classic status. Written in a depressed frame of mind, she wanted to write a song that would, in some way, "induce God to give us all a break", but decided that, on reflection, she "shouldn't get any more breaks because [she] already squandered them in weird places". This turned out to be sadly prescient for the rest of her life. The following year saw her her third album shelved by her record company (it remained unreleased until 2005), and then she was involved in a car accident which left her with daily excruciating back pain for the rest of her life. She became addicted to the painkillers that helped her deal with this pain and then returned to heroin (to which she had been addicted in the late Sixties), leaving the musical world far behind, before finally dying of an overdose in 1979. It's a heartbreaking story, especially when you consider the astonishing quality of the two albums she left us with - perfectly formed songs, full of achingly personal sincerity and beautifully sung from the heart. If you haven't yet made their acquaintance, I strongly suggest you do so.

As good as the studio version of The Donor is, there is a live version available that is, in my opinion, even more heartbreakingly powerful.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BE4c3ZlCWmQ

Now songs from so deep/While I'm sleeping/Seep in/Sweeping over me
Still the echo's aching
"Leave us not forsaken"
Kyrie eleison

So sad and so true/That even shadows come/And hum the requiem
Kyrie eleison

A rather unique talent that managed to flourish despite numerous setbacks and health problems as outlined above. The rather beautiful front cover of her first album immediately set the scene. I remember hearing Jesus Was A Crossmaker on Radio Luxembourg, courtesy of Kid Jenson, one late sleepless night and feeling slightly in awe. Not my kind of scene at all back then but something must have clicked that night as years later I came across the reissued versions of both albums and promptly snapped them up. I'll be honest in saying that I haven't given them the utmost attention they both deserve. That will come one day when I'm ready to let her in to my world of noise. I'm sure her sound will be a revelation, like a Spring rain.....Finally, I smile at the memory of coming across an original second hand copy of 'Jesus.....' a few weeks after she visited me over the airwaves and the sheer uniqeness of that cover shot terrified the hell out of me!! I regret now not buying it but the 4MWB's version I now own throws out a tremendous sound despite the label not having a good track record according to some....

Thanks for the memory, Dermot. Life is long and there's always time for that musical revelation to hit you, like the proverbial dew fall.

Incidentally, here's a good piece on Sill written by Barney Hoskyns for the Observer Music Magazine in 2004:
http://observer.guardian.co.uk/omm/stor ... 79,00.html

mcq wrote:Thanks for the memory, Dermot. Life is long and there's always time for that musical revelation to hit you, like the proverbial dew fall.

Incidentally, here's a good piece on Sill written by Barney Hoskyns for the Observer Music Magazine in 2004:
http://observer.guardian.co.uk/omm/stor ... 79,00.html

Just seeing this now. You're welcome Paul! Looking forward to reading the Hoskyn piece later tonight. Thanks again....

jadarin wrote:

God, I adore those cover shots especially Strange Days....

Moonlight Drive

Let's swim to the moon, uh huh
Let's climb through the tide
Penetrate the evenin' that the
City sleeps to hide
Let's swim out tonight, love
It's our turn to try
Parked beside the ocean
On our moonlight drive
Let's swim to the moon, uh huh
Let's climb through the tide
Surrender to the waiting worlds
That lap against our side
Nothin' left open
And no time to decide
We've stepped into a river
On our moonlight drive
Let's swim to the moon
Let's climb through the tide
You reach your hand to hold me
But I can't be your guide
Easy, I love you
As I watch you glide
Falling through wet forests
On our moonlight drive, baby
Moonlight drive
Come on, baby, gonna take a little ride
Down, down by the ocean side
Gonna get real close
Get real tight
Baby gonna drown tonight
Goin' down, down, down